For the second straight year, Carolina For the Kids, a non-profit made up of UNC students, will attempt to bring in $50,000 of donations in one day.

Carolina FTK’s “50K in One Day” event kicks off Tuesday night at 7:00 at the UNC men’s basketball game against Pittsburgh in the Dean Smith Center and will close exactly 24 hours later.

Fans at the basketball game will be able to donate to any of the Carolina FTK members in attendance.

“We are very excited to be working with Carolina athletics to give sports fans a greater opportunity to support Carolina For The Kids,” said Carolina FTK executive director Elizabeth Brown. “If everyone at the basketball game gave $3.00, we would reach our goal.”

In 2016, Carolina FTK fell just short of its goal, raising more than $49,000 in 24 hours.

“We believe that with UNC students and the community behind us that we will be able to meet our target this year,” Brown said. “$50,000 can help so many patients and families of the UNC Children’s Hospital and that’s what really matters.”

In addition to partnering with Carolina athletics, Carolina FTK will host an assortment of events on UNC’s campus Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. while also canvassing in Chapel Hill neighborhoods. Online donations will count toward the $50,000 goal.

Jacob Blount, publicity chair of Carolina FTK, also encouraged donations to the roughly 2,000 students seeking to participate in UNC Dance Marathon on March 24 and 25. Those donations will also count toward the $50,000 target.

During Dance Marathon, participants do not sit or sleep for 24 hours to support patients at the UNC Children’s Hospital. The marathon helped the organization raise more than $600,000 for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital in 2015-16.

Blount said the money donated to the Children’s Hospital provides a variety of services for families in need, including the For the Kids fund.

“It provides funds to families in ways that insurance does not,” he said. “So it pays for gas cards for families to travel from around the state of North Carolina to the hospital. It provides funds for families to purchase specialty car seats or to purchase hotel rooms or meal tickets.”

The money also helps provide a hot meal for Parents’ Night Out, which offers a hot meal to the families of patients on floors five through seven. It also funds translators to help increase the quality of care for Spanish native speakers.

Visit the Carolina For the Kids website for more information on the organization.

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